By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (August 30, 2010) – The American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region will be in full force action with a complete set of three events in southeast Texas over this Labor Day holiday weekend.
The weekend kicks off at Beaumont’s Golden Triangle Raceway Park on Friday night, shifts to the Gator Motorplex in Willis on Saturday night and then wraps up at Lufkin’s Speedarama Raceway on Sunday night.
The triple could prove crucial in Ray Allen Kulhanek’s drive for a second ASCS Gulf South title, as the Montgomery, TX, shoe carries a 120-point advantage over Conroe’s Tommy Bryant into the weekend. Only a pair of events on September 17-18 remains after this weekend’s action.
Kulhanek, the 2005 ASCS Gulf South champion, has reached victory lane on just one occasion thus far in 2010, a Gulf South vs. Lone Star tilt at Waco’s Heart O’ Texas Speedway on July 23. However, ten top-five feature finishes in 15 events, more than double the number of top-fives recorded by any of his title challengers, has proved to be the difference at the top of the point charts.
Bryant, who picked off back-to-back wins at Lufkin (May 30) and Beaumont (June 18), holds down second in points by just 43 points over two-time series champion Brandon Berryman of Missouri City, TX, with defending ASCS Gulf South champion Aaron Reutzel a close fourth.
Travis Elliott of Alvin, TX, rounds out the current top five in points, with Chris Sweeney (Channelview), Scottie McDonald (New Caney), Wes Miller (Santa Fe), Beau Smith (Texas City) and Logan Bledsoe (Richmond, TX) the balance of the top ten.
Friday’s card marks the sixth ASCS Gulf South stop of the year at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park. Gary Wright has topped two of five previous Beaumont features, with Chris Morgan, Bryant and Jason Johnson each posting single wins.
Saturday marks the second stop of the year at the Gator Motorplex, where Kent Lewis, Jr., used a 23-year-old Gambler Chassis to knock off the Gulf South forces over Memorial Day weekend.
Sunday’s weekend finale marks the third series stop of the year at the Speedarama Raceway, where Jason Johnson and Bryant have bagged Lufkin wins in 2010.
Friday’s action at Golden Triangle Raceway Park fires off at 8:00 p.m., Saturday’s green flag at Gator flies at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday’s action at Speedarama gets under way at 7:00 p.m.
Golden Triangle Raceway Park is located 9.5 miles west of I-10 on US 90 near Beaumont, TX. For more information, contact the track at 409-752-7200.
The Gator Motorplex is located in Willis, TX, off I-45 Exit 98 (Shepherd Hill exit), then east, then 1.4 miles south on SR 75. For more information, contact the track at 936-588-6127.
Speedarama Raceway is located east of Lufkin, TX, on SR 103, just one mile east of Loop 287. For more information, contact the track at 936-328-7571.
The ASCS Gulf South Region has completed 15 nights of racing action at seven different tracks throughout Texas in 2010 with just five nights of action remaining. Another seven nights have been lost to rain.
Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Golden Triangle Raceway Park:
8/20/10 – Jason Johnson
7/16/10 – Gary Wright
6/18/10 – Tommy Bryant
5/28/10 – Chris Morgan
3/5/10 – Gary Wright
10/2/09 – Channin Tankersley
9/18/09 – Jason Johnson
7/17/09 – Aaron Reutzel
6/19/09 – Travis Rilat
5/16/09 – Gary Wright
5/16/09 – Tommy Bryant (4/24 Makeup Feature)
3/6/09 – Gary Wright
8/15/08 – Channin Tankersley
7/18/08 – Gary Watson
5/9/08 – Channin Tankersley
2/29/08 – Jason Johnson
9/28/07 – Jason Johnson
6/22/07 – Michael Dupuy
5/18/07 – Brandon Berryman
4/6/07 – Jason Johnson
9/29/06 – Kevin Ramey
8/18/06 – Jason Johnson
6/23/06 – Gary Watson
8/19/05 – Ray Allen Kulhanek
6/17/05 – Ray Allen Kulhanek
4/15/05 – Travis Rilat
9/18/04 – Kelly Angelette
7/9/04 – Stephen Chevallier
* 9/28/02 – Michael Dupuy
* 9/27/02 – Tim Crawley
7/5/02 – Buddy Bodden
5/24/02 – Jason Johnson
* 4/5/02 – Zach Chappell
* – Indicates events held in conjunction with ASCS National Tour.
Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Gator Motorplex:
5/29/10 – Kent Lewis, Jr.
5/23/09 – Skip Wilson
3/28/09 – Jason Johnson
7/19/08 – Tommy Bryant
5/24/08 – Chris Sweeney
9/16/06 – Brad Best
5/27/06 – Chris Sweeney
10/8/05 – Travis Rilat
4/16/05 – Scottie McDonald
Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Speedarama Raceway:
5/30/10 – Tommy Bryant
4/24/10 – Jason Johnson
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.